Out of the Darkness

27

"Bro, shut up. The ghosts are trying to talk to us," he said, not even looking up at me. They both had their fingers on the planchette, watching it move slowly across the board. "Jake, you know I don't like it when you come in my room when I'm not home," I said, walking towards them. "Colby, be quiet," Tara said, glancing at me then back at the board. "Jake, I swear to God, if you're moving this thing, I'm breaking up with you." "I'm not moving it! I swear!" he exclaimed, looking up at her. I didn't know what to do or say to get their attention so I just kind of stupidly stood there, waiting for the board, or Anna, if it was her, to finish spelling whatever she was trying to say. "Wait," Jake said, taking his fingers from the planchette and looking at Tara. "Did you move it Tara?" She rolled her eyes at him, her expression not the least bit amused. "Just put your damn fingers back on here so we can say goodbye. I told you that I don't like these things. I don't know why I let you talk me into this. I should've known you would just try to scare me, and then turn it into a joke." "Tara, I didn't do this!" he exclaimed again. "Fine, I'll do it without you," she said, seriously sounding a bit peeved at him. She slid the planchette over to the word Goodbye on the board, then moved her fingers away from the piece. She held her hand out to me, and I helped her stand. Jake stood too, a look of complete surprise on his face. "How dare you Jake Webber!" She said, stabbing him in the chest with her long nail. "Tara, I didn't-" "Shut up! You shut your big stupid face! I agreed to do this with you, because you said you thought you saw something. I didn't want too, but I did. Then I asked you. I fucking asked you if you were going to pretend or let it be real when I saw your camera. You PROMISED that you wouldn't fuck around! Then you get the board to say 'fuck off.' Really nice Jake. Hope you're happy. I'm going home." Tara was short, like not even a complete 5 feet tall. She topped the charts at 4 foot eleven inches but she was a force to be reckoned with. Honestly, I was a little scared of her, especially when she got pissed. She was dating Jake, so that tended to happen. She loved him, just like he loved her, but Jake did have a tendency to act like a big kid most of the time. More than the rest of us did. Tara turned on her platformed heel and stormed out of the bedroom, her shoes thudding against the floor. Jake glanced at me, his expression upset, like he didn't know what he had done wrong. "Tara! Wait up!" he called out, running out of the room behind her. I sighed and leaned down to pick up the candles so that I could blow them out. I brought one close to my mouth, and inhaled, just as a cold breeze blew through the room. All of the candles went out, engulfing the room in darkness. I swallowed hard, more than a little nervous. Until that fruity scent that I was becoming to know so well, filled Jake's room. "Anna," I breathed, smiling. "Did you tell Jake to fuck off?" "Yes," she said, giggling, her voice barely audible. "You really got him in trouble with Tara," I replied, unable to stop the short laugh that came out of my mouth. I wasn't worried about Jake and Tara. They were each other's life and that's what happened in a normal relationship. You argued. Things weren't always easy, and you weren't always going to agree. "I didn't know you used that sort of language Anna. I thought you were a lady," I replied, picking the board up and putting it into it's box. "Hmm," she replied, her soft voice full of humor. "Maybe I was a Betty with a filthy mouth." I chuckled again. "You know what, I bet you were." I heard someone clear their throat and looked up to see Jake standing in front of me. "Um, who are you talking too?" He looked around the room like he expected to see someone, while I stared at the slight shimmer that was beside him. "Uh, no one. Myself. You and Tara okay?" I asked, quickly changing the subject. "Oh. Yeah, I think. Brother, I really wasn't fucking around with that board though. I didn't make it say that. It told me to fuck off..." I started to laugh again, but covered it with a coughing spell. "Maybe Tara did it to fuck with you," I suggested, shrugging. He looked at me with confusion on his face. "She wouldn't do that. Or she would but she'd tell me, ya know? She was really mad at me. She didn't do that." I stuck the board under my arm, and shrugged again. "I don't know man. Maybe you're haunted. I'm gonna go back to my room." He nodded, still looking confused, but stepped out of my way. "Yeah, okay. See ya." "See ya," I answered. I walked out and started back up the stairs to my own room. "Maybe you shouldn't have done that Anna," I muttered. "Now he really thinks that we're haunted." "Maybe you shouldn't have told him that, you dingus," she replied, the air shimmering a step above me. "Can you stop calling me that? What else was I supposed to say?" I asked, indignantly, my voice getting louder. "YO," I heard Sam call out. "What's up?" I yelled back, glaring at the shimmering spot that was always a step ahead of me until I reached the second floor landing. Sam's head popped out of his room door. "Did you call me?" I shook my head. "Nope." He scratched his head. "Oh. Thought I heard you yell something." I really had to learn how to be careful when talking to Anna. "Nah, just talking to myself," I answered. "You were yelling to yourself?" he asked, looking at me like I was crazy.